The Hope in Yahweh

The heart of this article had its roots in a word given to me by the Holy Spirit in a very unlikely place... The Crazy Horse Saloon, twenty-some-odd years ago. I was playing fiddle in a country rock band, living a life that made sense to me then, but now, of course, I see the error of it all.
Nevertheless, it was in that frame of reference that Yahweh spoke to me. And, I remember the looks on the faces of the band members when I shared it with them – it was as if time had stopped, if for only a moment, as they tried to grasp what I was saying. This is what I told them:
“There is no sin without forgiveness.
“There is no forgiveness without repentance.
“There is no repentance without change.
“There is no change without pain.
“There is no pain without wisdom.
“There is no wisdom without knowledge.
“There is no knowledge without sin.”
If you notice, the statement can be repeated over
and over, just like life.
I can see, now, that Yahweh was trying to outline, in a way that I could understand, His plan of Salvation. At the time, I had been going through some major grief. But, He gave me the comfort of UNDERSTANDING – that it all had a purpose. That this was the way it had to be. He communicated to me that, sure, there would be pain in life, but the pain would produce wisdom, and beget knowledge.
I would sin, but would receive forgiveness through making changes in my life – out of the knowledge and wisdom I gained through ... trial and (what) ... error! He was saying, “John, don’t worry! This’ll all make sense to you some day.” Well, here I am. I thought I’d take some time to review this old lesson, and, perhaps it’ll make sense to you, too. Okay. Here’s the message again:
1. There is no sin without forgiveness.
2. There is no forgiveness without repentance.
3. There is no repentance without change.
4. There is no change without pain.
5. There is no pain without wisdom.
6. There is no wisdom without knowledge.
7. There is no knowledge without sin. (On this last one, was it not the first sin that had to do with the Knowledge of Good and Evil?)
There Is No Sin Without Forgiveness
The reason is because of the “Creator’s mercy, grace and lovingkindness is perfect.” Now, we all know that there is one unforgivable sin committed by those who have rejected the Set-apart Spirit! Their mind is elsewhere, and this message is of no use to them. Scripture is filled with examples of Yahweh’s abundant mercy. Here’s just one: When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy, because they have sinned against You, if they turn to You again and confess Your name and pray and make supplication to You in this house (Solomon’s Temple), then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers, 1 Kings 8:33-34 NASU . In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, Ephesians 1:7 NASU.

There Is No Forgiveness Without Repentance
This is “obedient change” because “obedience is the evidence of perfected love for the Almighty, Whose recompense is perfect.”If you love Me, you will keep My commandments, John 14:15 NASU.
Yahweh is perfect in His mercy and in His punishment, as testified to by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:14-15:Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; Yahweh will repay [KJV, “reward”] him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching, NASU.
How did Alexander “harm” Paul? By opposing Paul’s correct teaching of the Scripture.

There Is No Repentance Without Change
The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia has this to say about Repentance:
“The Hebrew term shubh is most generally employed to express the Scriptural idea of genuine repentance. It is used extensively by the prophets, and makes prominent the idea of a radical CHANGE in one's attitude toward sin and Elohim. It implies a conscious, moral separation, and a personal decision to forsake sin and to enter into fellowship with Elohim.
“The [Greek] word metanoeo is equivalent to shubh and expresses the true New Testament idea of the spiritual change implied in a sinner's return to Elohim. The term signifies ‘to have another mind,’ to CHANGE the opinion [perception, thoughts, meanings] or purpose with regard to sin. It is equivalent to the Old Testament word [meaning] ‘turn.’ Thus, it is employed by John (Yochanan) the Immerser, Yahshua, and the apostles.”
Using the Englishman’s Concordance, the Hebrew word shuwb demonstrates the idea of returning to someone or something 1057 times. It is a root word meaning “to repent,” “to turn back,” or, “to return,” “to go back home.” In the figurative sense, repentance means to go to or go back to obedience to the Law of Yahweh. That’s what John the Immerser, Yahshua and the apostles preached.The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of Yahweh is at hand. Repent, and believe in the evangel, Mark 1:15.

There Is No Change Without Pain
Obedient change is, by definition, the absence of sin. Although the word, sin, is not defined as “pleasure,” it is clear that the extreme desire for sensual pleasure is the root of sin. When it comes to the world of addictions, social dysfunction, crime, war and political corruption, are not these all mechanisms people use to obtain “comfort” and pleasure? Are not people looking for relief from their pain and, sure enough, discovering pleasure in all these things? The only problem is, these are only temporary band aids, attempting to cover up the fear, guilt, shame, disappointment and powerlessness they experience in their lives.For all that is in the world, the lust [the yearning, aching and coveting] of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride [arrogance, conceit and self-importance] of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, 1John 2:16. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of Yahweh rather than to enjoy the PLEASURES of sin for a short time, Hebrews 11:24-25 NIV.At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and PLEASURES. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another, Titus 3:3 NIV.

There Is No Pain Without Wisdom
Wisdom speaks from knowledge that has been tried, tested and proved. Who, today, has not benefited in knowledge from the “School of Hard Knocks”? How do we learn? By “Trial and ... Error”! Of course, the hard knocks are only useful if we LEARN by them. I see a lot of people, including myself, trying to solve problems by doing the same thing over and over again. Or, doing the same thing harder and harsher, until they become brutal – or, until they collapse in a heap of ruin. “If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something different.” In most cases, what DOESN’T work is trying to solve problems with the resources that Satan makes so abundant. Television, movies, alcohol, pornography, drugs, deviant forms of worship or total immersion into worldly “hobbies.”Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward, 1 Corinthians 3:13-14 KJV.So this is what the Sovereign Yahweh says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a TESTED stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed,” Isaiah 28:16. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on MY NAME and I will answer them; I will say, “They are My people,” and they will say, “Yahweh is our Elohim,” Zechariah 13:9.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Yahshua the Messiah is revealed, 1 Peter 1:6-7.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of the Messiah, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed, 1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV.

There Is No Wisdom Without Knowledge
In rejecting sin, one must fill the void with knowledge of the Truth.The fear of YAHWEH is the beginning of KNOWLEDGE, but fools despise WISDOM and DISCIPLINE, Proverbs 1:7 NIV.
Discipline reads as “instruction” in the KJV and other versions. Discipline [or, “instruction” in KJV etc.] is the translation of the Hebrew muwcar (moo-sawr'), Strong’s # OT:4148; from OT:3256; properly, chastisement; figuratively, reproof, warning or instruction; also restraint. Strong’s #OT:3256 yacar (yaw-sar'); a primitive root; to chastise, literally (with blows) or figuratively (with words); hence, to instruct.

There Is No Knowledge Without Sin
Our nature IS sin, but knowledge exposes sin.But of the TREE of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, Genesis 2:17 KJV.
And YAHWEH Elohim said, "The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever," Genesis 3:22.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned, Romans 5:12 NASU.

A Reminder
May we continue to add righteous knowledge from Yahweh to that which He has already givenus, for we do know that:
There is no sin without forgiveness.
There is no forgiveness without repentance.
There is no repentance without change.
There is no change without pain.
There is no pain without wisdom.
There is no wisdom without knowledge.
And there is no knowledge without sin.

Furthermore
Also, we know that:
There is no sin without the Law.
There is no Law without the Word.
There is no Word without the Creator.

But
If there is no Creator, then there is no Word.
If there is no Word, then there is no Law.
If there is no Law, then there is no sin.
If there is no sin, then there is no knowledge.
If there is no knowledge, then there is no wisdom.
If there is no wisdom, then there is no pain.
If there is no pain, then there is no need for change.
If there is no need for change, then there is no need for repentance.
If there is no need for repentance, then there is no forgiveness.
And, if there is no forgiveness, then there is no hope.

Conclusion
May we continue to grow in the Knowledge and Wisdom of Yahweh, in the name of Yahshua the Messiah. HalleluYah!